POLITICS

Foreign Policy News: Ordubad: an ancient city in the heart of Eurasia

AzerTAg.az

The US news portal Foreign Policy News has issued an articled titled “Ordubad: an ancient city in the heart of Eurasia” by Peter Tase, a research scholar of International Affairs, who attended the 4th Baku International Humanitarian Forum and visited the country`s Ordubad region.

“The center of Ordubad has breathtaking views, very welcoming people and a warm atmosphere to international visitors who unfortunately rarely travel to these areas of Azerbaijan,” says Mr. Tase.

“The city of Ordubad has a historic building that dates back in the 17th century, namely the Qeyyseriye building, located near the bazar and currently used as a museum; it continues to be one of the three Qeyseriyye buildings in this region. The other two buildings were in Samarkand and Tabriz. Since 1990 this building has been used as historical and ethnography museum.”

“Ordubad is a region with an ancient history and possesses specific national and moral values. It is located on the foothills of the Gapydjyg in the Minor Caucasus. Impressive mountains dominate the landscape; its smaller part consists of foothill areas and only 5 percent of flat areas. It has extremely rich flora and fauna. The settlement is mostly located on the foothill area and has abundant fresh water reserves that are used for irrigation and daily consumption.”

He says: “This area is considered one of the most ancient human settlements in the world and the place where humanity was shaped. The name of Ordubad is mentioned for the first time in the written sources of the 5th century. The Gemigaya Mountain, considered one of the great pantheons of the ancient world is also located in Ordubad. The mountain carvings and the settlements located here enable to trace back the cultural development and the lifestyle of the ancient population settled on the territory of Ordubad in the 7th through the 1st century B.C. The settlements and necropolises rich in the remnants of culture of the 2nd-1st millenniums B.C exist on the territory of such settlements as Ordubad, Sabirkend, Plovdagh and Kharaba Gilan. These remnants ensure the ancient establishment of Ordubad going back in more than seven thousand years ago.”

“In the early 18th century Ordubad was part of the Safavi Empire. In 1724 Ordubad was annexed by the Ottoman Empire and conquered by Iranian ruler Nadir Shah. Thousands of Ordubad residents became victims of Armenian terrorism and were subjected to persecution in the early 20th century.